Romance in the Alleys
by Sanded Silk
Summary: Sakura's attracting the bad boy in town.... NejiSaku, rated for language and mature content


Another piece of NejiSaku crap. Basically, Sakura's attracting the bad boy in town... Oneshot. Enjoy. :D

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, now stop rubbing it in...**

--Sanded Silk--

* * *

Haruno Sakura was considered very fortunate. 

She started out as a candour young woman who skipped the last two years of college. She then applied to be a police officer at the local police station. After proving her sharp mental and physical agility by passing the mental and physical tests, she started as a subsidiary low-rank policewoman. Contending the economical and time-related problems she often faced, Sakura quickly climbed up the rank ladder. By the end of another six months, she was the immediate right-hand policewoman of the police chief, Nara Shikamaru. She was now payed enough to afford an apartment and to buy new clothing every once in awhile.

The town she currently lived in-Konoha Village- had a serious economy drop, forcing many people into penury and others to murder and steal for a living. Naturally, Sakura's job became extremely exciting, and required scrupulous physical and psychological skill.

One day, as she sat, unnaturally bored in her office, by her superior, a ragged-looking man suddenly came bursting into the room. Sakura quickly sat up, immediately at attention.

"The store... across the street...robbed..." Sakura quickly grabbed her notebook. "How did the person look like?" The man gasped painfully, blood pouring from the gash in his side. "It was...the Black-and-White Bird..." Sakura's eyes widened.

The Black-and-White Bird was a fearfully violent criminal who haunted the dark alleys of Konoha. He began his apparition-like attacks shortly after the downhill fall of Konoha's economy system. He had long chestnut hair, tied back into a loose ponytail with a white piece of string. He wore black pants and boots, a white undershirt-like tank top, and white straps around his biceps and forearms. Underneath the straps, he wore leather black gloves. He used one lone sword with a bloody-red handle, which he strapped to his back. He used throwing daggers and throwing stars every once in a while.

His most popular feature was his mask. It was an elaborate combination of black and white pieces of a mysterious hard substance, which formed the visage of a bird's face. The beaded straps of his mask were visible, as they stuck out slightly from underneath his thick hair.

Of all of the criminals in the town, the Black-and-White bird was the most feared. His wildest rampage was a national record-10 murders and 14 attempts at murder in 10 days. It was natural for one to pale at the mention of the Black-and-White Bird, dorky as his name was.

Sakura was beginning to feel extremely vexed- and a slight burst of inappropriate jocoseness- at the repeated attacks of this particular criminal. However, crimes like these couldn't be simply ignored, although she knew that many other people in the village shared her opinions.

And so, with an intense feeling of nostalgia for the short epoch where the Bird's attacks were actually unsuspected, the lieutenant officer quietly put down her notebook and looked at her superior. Shikamaru was observing the ragged man with his dark, emotionless eyes. "Nara-senpai...?" Shikamaru nodded once. "What should I do?"

Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Here," he said, and handed her a tracking device. "I have the tracker. You take this, and try to pin it onto the Bird. Arouse a group of nearby police officers. I'll send in an additional group of back-up when you corner the criminal."

Sakura stood up on her slightly-heeled boots, adjusting her white shirt and black pants. "Yes, sir," She saluted as she gathered her coat. "Don't forget your walkie talkie, Haruno-san," Shikamaru called after his subordinate. "Yes, sir," She repeated, grabbing her walkie talkie on the small table by the door. She cast a hopeful smile over her shoulder, shrugging on her fur-trimmed coat, and hurried out the door.

Presently, Shikamaru heard his walkie talkie start buzzing with voices.

"Haruno-san to all officers near the local police station," She said through the walkie talkie. "Please gather at the grocery store across from the station. The Black-and-White Bird has struck."

* * *

Sakura flipped easily onto slightly-higher ground- which happened to be an apple stand-and surveyed her crowd of obedient police men and women, thinking and tapping her chin lightly. 

"Alright," Sakura began in her most authoritive tone, "We have a total of 16 people here, including myself. Good; we need an elite team as of now. The Bird was seen heading west from the front door, towards the western alleys, where his lair is believed to be. I want us to be divided into four groups: four to head directly after the criminal, four to go around the alleys and attack from the opposite exits, and eight divided into two groups waiting on either end, in case we need back up. Any objections?"

No one could find a flaw in her plan.

"Any questions?"

Again, no one could find any questions to ask.

"Alright. Everyone have their supply of tracking devices and walkie talkies ready. Keep your weapons in hand, and keep your senses alert." She paused, gazing at the small crowd of people before her. "Good luck."

As the group disbanded to figure out which groups they would belong in, Sakura jumped down nimbly from her perch on the clothing stand. "Nara-senpai," She said as she approached her superior, who was waiting outside the door. "Do you have anything to add?" Shikamaru shook his head. "I will be staying here," he replied. Sakura nodded, and turned to the group of three other people.

Sakura landed herself in the group that was chasing after the criminal directly. The three other people in her group were Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Sabaku no Gaara. 'Hm,' She thought, 'Good. I have some of the faster runners.' She greeted her fellow teammates briefly, before she quickly reminded them where the alley was. Then, the groups were off.

* * *

Sakura was running with fresh alacrity at the head of her group, muttering orders as she went. 

"As soon as you plant a tracking device on the Bird, alert everyone else so we can shift into an offense strategy." Her fellow officers either nodded wordlessly or answered in one-word affirmations.

Suddenly, they came to face a five-way seperation. Sakura stopped, unsure of what to do. Finally, she took out her walkie talkie. "Nara-senpai," She said quietly. "Yes," Came the reply. "Send one of the immediate back-ups for the immediately pursuing group. We have a five-way seperation. Have the back-up head in the far right route when he or she reaches the five-way split, please." Shikamaru muttered an affirmation through his walkie talkie, and Sakura put her walkie talkie back in her belt, too agitated to pick up on the fact that she was acting extremely bossy.

"Yamanaka, please head for the far left split. Inuzuka, you can take the one next to Yamanaka's. Sabaku, please take the second route from the right. I will take the center one." Everyone nodded wordlessly and headed for their assigned routes. "Good luck," She called after them, before heading out on her own route.

Sakura kept her eyes wide open for anything suspicious-looking as she dashed down her route. Nothing. Just as she was beginning to get bored, someone jumped down from the high walls behind her and clapped their hand over her mouth. Sakura immediately went into defense mode, digging her nails into the intruder's arms and trying to scream.

She gasped when she realized that the arms holding her down were gloved in black leather with white straps.

It was the criminal himself.

She quickly calmed down, releasing his arms and putting her hands down. She could feel the hard, taunt muscles of his abdomen press into her back. Trying extremely hard to appear unruffled, she stood, absolutely motionless, listening to the ragged breathing of the criminal and feeling his sweat moisten her own body, waiting for him to release her.

The moment he did release her, however, he pressed her against the wall, her arms perpendicular to her body. She gritted her teeth, before defiantly facing her attacker. The only way to worm out of this one hadn't presented itself to her yet.

His mask had been cracked down the center, and probably had fallen off somewhere along his run, exposing a silver eye and pale skin. Everything underneath his eye was still covered, but only by a flimsy bit of black cloth. She could almost see the outline of his nose, his chin, his lips...

Suddenly, Sakura found everything extremely ironic. Here she was, flung and pressed against a stony wall, an unconciously sexy man holding her against the wall with all of his body, his silvery eye glaring into hers. Oh yes, of course she thought he was at least mildly sexy, with his muscled abdomen, his hard breathing, his intense gaze, his chestnut hair, his strong arms holding her against her will... It was completely natural to think of him as at least the tiniest bit sexy.

Sakura smirked, despite everything. "Hmm..." She murmured to herself, gazing up into the killer's eyes. "So you've caught me," She said, her cool breath rustling his makeshift mask, "but are you sure that's what you want as of now...?"

"You don't know what I want," The killer suddenly said. His voice was low, silky-smooth; nothing like what she had expected, and her breath silently hitched in her throat. He abruptly changed the subject. "What's this...?" His eye twinkled with mirthless laughter.

"Hm?"

"Your aura." He leaned in, as though taking in her scent. "I've seduced many a female officer, but none with such a suggestive aura as yours." He breathed deeply, and his eye blinked lazily, slowly. "It this something that was taught at that training camp of yours, or is it something... innate...?"

Sakura smirked. "Suggestive? Whatever do you mean?" She slurred, all the while pushing her hips up against those of the mysterious criminal. He showed no sign of any sort of reaction to her suggestive move, except for a sudden glimmer of lust in his eye. He sighed, the breath thrumming deep in his muscled throat, and Sakura could almost hear him lick his lips in earnest. She struggled with her emotions, forcing the nervousness down.

"And did you really seduce other female officers?" She asked innocently, casting her gaze down in mock dissapointment. "And I though I was something special."

"Oh no," The killer said with no intention of comforting her in his cold voice. "You're rating the highest so far." As he spoke, he pushed his hips up against hers in reply to her earlier movement. It was all she could do to keep her eyes open. Was it possible for a man to be so... rigid?

"Rating?" Sakura's eyebrows traveled up her forehead rapidly. "Hm. You take this business seriously, I see. So how do you rate women?"

Again, she saw his mouth move to moisten his lips, and though he didn't reply, she knew exactly what he wanted to say. Despite her cool mask, Sakura felt a shiver snake up her spine. Ironically, she smirked even wider. "Hm," She hummed. "Well then, let's get this rating business over with. I'm sincerely curious, you see...?"

He blinked at her, as if not sure whether she actually wanted him to "rate" her, but seemed to make his decision. He brought her wrists together before her, so as to hold her down with one hand, and used the other hand to unwrap a strap from around his arm. He wrapped the strap around her eyes and hair, blinding her. She heard the rustling of his mask, and knew what was coming, but the fact didn't hit her as hard as his lips hit hers.

Their kiss wasn't anything slow or sensual; it was a fight, a fierce battle, over power, of tongue and lips. Sakura felt suffocated in the strong, rough arms of the violent- and sexy- young man. Her attention wasn't attracted at all to the dwindling strength of her windpipe, however, but to the mysterious stranger's hands, moving up and down her back and hips...

He tasted forbidden, like a gust of dry wind, and for a moment-just a moment-Sakura enjoyed their intense lip-to-lip contact. He seemed extremely experienced at the art of kissing and seduction; his hands seemed to be everywhere, his lips capturing her in a combination of sensations occuring in her very body. She allowed a small moan to escape her throat, her fingers around his shoulders and in his hair.

She regained inner conciousness, and slipped a hand from his hair firmly over his crotch to keep his senses subsided. She snuck her other hand, slowly, into her pocket, her alabastrine fingers finding the tracking device. She activated it with a small click- too soft to be heard over her moans and his groans- and attached the tiny gadget to the hem of the killer's white shirt.

She retrieved her gun from her belt in a fraction of a second, braced herself against the wall, and raised her legs to kick the still-masked man squarely in the chest. He stumbled back, a groan caught in his throat. Still trapped against the wall, Sakura wiped the back of her pale hand over her swollen lips, bravely pointing her gun at him. He looked up, surprised, and reached up to draw his sword.

"I have the advantage," She said shakily, all traces of lust gone from her voice. "One false move, you bastard, and I'll shoot you dead."

The man chuckled mirthlessly. She gulped, struggling to keep her eyes focused. "One false move..." She warned, her voice growing stronger. 'Please...' She begged inwardly. 'Please back off... save yourself...' Out loud, she said, "If you retreat quietly, I won't shoot. If you attack..."

The man seemed to relax. He shrugged, and Sakura could almost see the smirk stretching his lips underneath the flimsy black cloth. He turned his back on her with a short "Hn" and walked away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Sakura's knees gave away, and she sank to the ground, shaking, her body completely numb. She places where his hands had stroked her earlier tingled warmly, but she ignored them stubbornly. She reached for her walkie talkie with her free hand and held it shakily to her mouth.

"N-Nara-sempai."

Shikamaru answered immediately. "Haruno-san? Is that you?!"

"I'm f-fine," She insisted weakly. "I've planted the tracking device on the B-Bird. R-Redirect the rest of the chasing teams after him. Have back-up r-ready. And p-please," She nearly whispered, "S-Send someone to come get me. I-I don't think I'm strong enough to w-walk back..."

Shikamaru nearly shouted an affirmative, along with a "Hang in there!", and Sakura dropped her walkie talkie, her arms and hands uselessly numb.

Sakura felt a drop of water on her nose. She looked up, squinting. More drops of clear, cool water rained onto her face, her hair, cooling her off. She smiled a small, lazy smile to herself.

"...It's raining..."

* * *

Shikamaru himself came to rescue her. He carried her back to the police station, and when he arrived, streaming wet, with an even more ragged-looking Sakura in his arms, he screamed for someone to call the hospital. She concurred, of course, saying she was perfectly fine,and she just had to go home and get some rest. Reluctantly, Shikamaru allowed her to go. 

Now, she sat in front of the TV with the news channel on, a cup of steaming-hot tea in her hands. The host was currently broadcasting about the capture of the Black-and-White Bird.

"...we all know, the Black-and-White Bird was capture earlier today. He confessed to the crime of killing 92 people in the past two years. He is, as we know him without his mask, Hyuuga Neji, heir of the main Hyuuga branch family."

Sakura shook her head. "Poor Hinata..."

The host continued. "The main player in the capture of Hyuuga Neji was none other than our very own lieutenant policewoman, Haruno Sakura. With her precocious martial-arts moves, she stalled the assassin, allowing the others to catch up, and when she couldn't hold out any longer, she planted a tracking device on his shirt and allowed him to escape. Miraculously, neither of the two involved in the intense fight were physically hurt, though Haruno-san had to be helped back to the police station."

Sakura got up and walked to the cieling-to-floor windows, gazing out into the morosely rainy visage of the village she lived in, wondering if she would ever miss the Hyuuga who stole her first kiss in the dark alleys of Konoha.

"Hm..."

* * *

**Author's Crap:** I know this section is actually supposed to be Author's Notes, (A/N), but whatever. XD 

...Oh my gawd. Could I get any worse at writing closings?!

I'm sory about the suckiness of this one. It was written only in two days, so...ya. Criticism welcome, but please don't set this poor piece of writing on fire.

--Sanded Silk--


End file.
